A lawsuit filed by a major pharmacy benefit manager in December alleges the Mississippi Board of Pharmacy violated the company’s right to due process by releasing the findings of an audit before determining any wrongdoing.
The audit’s findings, released by the Board of Pharmacy in October, indicate that OptumRx may have violated Mississippi law by paying independent pharmacies in Mississippi rates lower than chains and Optum-affiliated pharmacies for the same prescription drugs in 2022.
Mississippi law prohibits pharmacy benefit managers from reimbursing their affiliate pharmacies, or those they own, at higher rates than non-affiliate pharmacies for the same services.
OptumRx filed the complaint in Hinds County Chancery Court on Dec. 10, naming all seven Board of Pharmacy members and Executive Director Susan McCoy as defendants. The lawsuit asks the judge to rule that an independent hearing officer preside over the administrative hearing on the audit’s findings.
Administrative hearings can lead to disciplinary action by the Board of Pharmacy, including fines.